Newbie asking for advice

T

thesiege84

0
I need some help with my program, diet etc. This is what i do (Please don't laugh)

Male
Age: 21
Height: 5'8
Current weight: 81KG

Gym routine (In order):
Rowing
1.5km normally takes around 6-7min

Bike:
A program that i'm not sure about basically 10min at level 6 Keep it between 70-80rpm job.

chest press:
35kg- 10 reps 4 sets with 30 sec break between sets

45kg- 5 reps 3-4 sets with 30 sec break between sets

Abdominal Crunch
30kg 15 reps - 5-6 sets with 30 sec break

Then i normally go back on the bike for 5 min (same as above)

Free weights:
Not sure about the lingo so please bare with me:
lie on bench and use 12kg weights as a bench press. 10 reps 3-4 sets

Then same weights but stand and lift then just with arms (lol told you i know no lingo) 10 reps 3 sets

Then i normally go back on the Abdominal Crunch and repeat above.

Then after that i go back and do the chest press again without the initial lower weights.

Then go home.

As you can see i have no idea what i'm doing.

Here is a pic of me so you can see my situation (Again don't laugh)

As you can see i have alot of weight to loose first.

I have been doing my routine for a month now and feel alot stronger, have noticed weight loss, however not much only lost 3kg in 3 weeks.

I am trying to concentrate on upper body (arms, chest and abs)

I am a member of a small gym that has the following facilities:

cardio:
Treadmills
Bikes
Recline Bikes
Rotex Elliptical Trainers
Glidex Cross Trainers
Cardio-Waves
Steppers
Hand Bikes
Concept II Rowers

Resistance stations:
Abdominal Crunch
Adductor - works you inner thighs (I didn't know)
Cable Jungle - Hi/Low Pulley systems for various exercises
Chest Press
Glute Machine
Incline Chest Press
Lateral Pulldown
Leg Curl
Leg Extension
Leg Press
Lower Back
Multi Hip
Pulldown
Shoulder Press
Upper Back


Any comments much appreciated. hopefully someone can think of a better workout routine for me.

I go to the gym about 5 times a week. Don't wake up stiff anymore, and after about 2 hours of going to the gym i'm ready to go again.
 
Horizontal Push: Flat/Decline/Incline Bench Press, dips
Horizontal Pull: Bent-over/Cable Rows
Vertical Push: Shoulder Press
Vertical Pull: Pull-up
Quad-Dominant (Push): Back/Front/Hack Squat
Glute-Dominant (Pull): Conventional/Sumo/Romanian Deadlift, Good Mornings

These are your basic compound exercises. Any good routine will have some variation of these exercises.

While you stated you want to "work on" your upper body, leg lifts release the most amount of growth hormone. This will also encourage your upper body to grow.

We will encourage you to use freeweights - but basic education comes first.
 
Would it be bad if i did a full muscle workout everytime i went to the gym? But go 4 times a week so the muscles have time to recover?

Cheers for the links by the way. had a good read of them.
 
Cynic said:
You might want to look into a push/pull split. I'll detail one later.
Click to expand...

Gotcha covered.

Simply arrange your exercises like so:

Push Day:

Front Squat
Bench Press
Shoulder Press

Pull Day

Romanian Deadlift
Pull-ups
Bent-over Row


I picked front squat because it hits your quads a little bit more than a back squat, and romanian deadlift because it hits your glutes more (and has zero quad involvement). You could do this mon/tues/thurs/friday. There's your four days a week. While some may think it's odd to suggest front squats to a beginner, I think it's effective at helping your squat form before you even hit back squats. Also, Romanian Deadlifts will bring up your posterior chain. You'll want visuals.

Front Squat

Bar rests on your shoulders. Your hands don't actually grasp the bar, they tend to just flex backwards. Most of the time your pinkie will be barely touching the bar, if at all. Takes a bit to get used to. Start with just the bar.

Bench Press

Shoulder Press

(I'm showing dumbbell versions, as you may want to start with dumbbells.)

Romanian Deadlifts:

Note the limited range of motion. Also note that you bend your knees slightly. Start light.

Bent-over Row

Note that his form is a little off. His back is rounded. Keep your lower back tight - maintain the natural curve to the spine.

Pull-ups - you know what they are.


This is just one example. The outline of a push/pull is rather simple.

Quad-dominant legs
Horizontal Push
Vertical push

Glute-dominant legs
Horizontal pull
Vertical pull

As for your set/rep, maybe you could try 5x5.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info. i looked at the weights you suggested, the only issue is that my gym does not have the facilities to use Romanian Deadlifts or Bent-over Row. as in they don't have the big bar. just the free weights.

we have these:
cardio:
Treadmills
Bikes
Recline Bikes
Rotex Elliptical Trainers
Glidex Cross Trainers
Cardio-Waves
Steppers
Hand Bikes
Concept II Rowers

Resistance stations:
Abdominal Crunch
Adductor - works you inner thighs (I didn't know)
Cable Jungle - Hi/Low Pulley systems for various exercises
Chest Press
Glute Machine
Incline Chest Press
Lateral Pulldown
Leg Curl
Leg Extension
Leg Press
Lower Back
Multi Hip
Pulldown
Shoulder Press
Upper Back

From looking at your ideas would this be ok?

DAY 1:
Leg Press:
10 reps 3 sets
5 reps 3 sets (Higher weight)

Bench press:
10 reps 3 sets
5 reps 3 sets (Higher weight)

Shoulder press:
10 reps 3 sets
5 reps 3 sets (Higher weight)

Abdominal Crunch
20 reps 3 sets
10 reps 3 sets (higher weight)

DAY 2:
I'm not sure about day2 as we don't have the equipment that you suggested. we do have a machine that does the same as the bent over row.
How about:
Bent over row (Machine)
10 reps 3 sets
5 reps 5 sets (higher weight)

Lateral Pulldown
10 reps 3 sets
5 reps 5 sets (higher weight)
Will i be able to do some cardio in the days? like rowing and bikes?

As for the 5 x 5 would it not be better for me to go on 5 x 3 so i can lift heavier weights?

Also with the bench press we have a machine for that aswell and i can do 5 x 5 on 45KG but on freeweights i can only do 5 x 5 with 14kg dumbells!!
 
Last edited:
When you say free weights, do you mean dumbbells?

Your gym has absolutely no barbells at all? that's not good.

Both those exercises can be performed with dumbbells.
 
Cynic said:
When you say free weights, do you mean dumbbells?

Your gym has absolutely no barbells at all? that's not good.

Both those exercises can be performed with dumbbells.
Click to expand...

Yeah i mean dumbbells, they don't have barbells. Its annoying because i read alot on this site about barbells etc.

My other question is. As you can see i have fat to loose, will just weight training reduce the amount of fat on my body? or do i do more cardio? I am doing a bit but only around 20min of different cardio a session. Should i stop this and just lift weights?
 
No, cardio isn't bad, unless you're doing marathon training every day.

I simply have no need for it at the present. I would recommend 3x/wk full-body and 3x/wk cardio (on different days than the weights).
 
Thanks for the reply. I guess that the cardio will loose some of the fat first, would it be so bad if after i did weights that i did some cardio on the same day as weights aswell. Or just stick to what you said?
 
Thanks for that last comment, i'm glad you said that because i have found something very strange.

When i lift heavy weight and finish my sets i feel like i've been beaten up. have a job to move any muscle. However if i wait about 10 min then i'm ready to go again. Should i "go again" (As in repeat my sets) or should i stop?

Don't know if this helps but i've been taking creatine for about 3 weeks now.
 
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